Although she grew up in a very poor family, Hirota loved to paint as a child and by the age of 12 had decided that she wanted to become a painter.
Hirota's second master was Kainosho Kusune, who later introduced her to Takeuchi Seihō (1864-1942), Kyoto's most famous painter at the time, in the 1930s.
During this time she met her husband-to-be, Kuma Mukai, who was also studying as a painter under Nishiyama.
Female subjects were the primary focus of her work and many of them in traditional Japanese dress with vibrant colors.
Hirota loved to paint women like maiko as independent humans, not as accessories or as if they belonged to men.